1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to collapsible sealed containers to dispense liquid products, and more particularly to a flexible conduit incorporated in such a collapsible container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many exemplary collapsible containers are available in the prior art which permit the extraction of the product from a container. Most of the containers use conventional dip tubes including an elongated cylindrical tube which includes an upper portion connected to a valve and a lower portion positioned within the product to be extracted from the container. For example, Daniels, U.S. Pat. No. 3,171,571 discloses a conventional bag-in-box type of dispensing package including a dip tube.
Another example of a dip tube position within a flexible bag is disclosed by Kramer, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,899. The dip tube includes perforations through which the syrup or other material positioned within the flexible bag is sucked therefrom by means of a pump. U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,636 to Credle discloses a collapsible bag with an extruded dip tube including at least one channel in the peripheral surface of the dip tube and extending along substantially the entire length of the dip tube. As a vacuum or suction is applied to the dip tube by a pump, initially all of the air within the collapsible bag is extracted therefrom. Subsequently, the liquid product is dispensed out of the collapsible bag and the bag collapses around a portion of the dip tube which is no longer surrounded by the liquid product.
One of the disadvantages of the prior art collapsible containers including dip tubes is that they require the insertion of a dip tube, and thus of an additional step in the manufacture of the filled container. Additionally, because of the geometry of the dip tube and the collapsible container, the insertion of the dip tube could not be handled through automated means, but rather requires manual insertion.